Key Votes
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About the Selection and Descriptions of Key Votes
Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
- The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
- The vote should be clear for any person to understand
- The vote has received media attention
- The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
- Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2018 | LA | SB 316 | Amend State Riverboat Gaming Laws | Bill Passed - House (53 - 42) |
| April 6, 2018 | OK | HB 3375 | Authorizes Sports Gambling | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 16) |
| March 28, 2018 | MD | SB 900 | Amends Rules and Regulations to the Gaming Industry | Bill Passed - House (87 - 45) |
| March 13, 2018 | KY | HB 164 | Authorizes Charitable Gambling | Bill Passed - House (59 - 36) |
| March 7, 2018 | FL | HB 7067 | Authorizes Blackjack in Seminole Casinos | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 10) |
| March 5, 2018 | FL | HB 7067 | Authorizes Blackjack in Seminole Casinos | Bill Passed - House (70 - 40) |
| March 2, 2018 | WV | SB 415 | Authorizes Casino Sports Betting Upon Federal Approval | Bill Passed - House (77 - 22) |
| Feb. 20, 2018 | WV | SB 415 | Authorizes Casino Sports Betting Upon Federal Approval | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 9) |
| Jan. 29, 2018 | VA | SB 192 | Authorizes State to Deduct Previous TANF Benefits from Lottery Winnings | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 19) |
| Jan. 10, 2018 | National | S 140 | An Act to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund | Bill Passed - House (239 - 173) |
| June 29, 2017 | DE | HB 249 | Authorizes Fantasy Sports Betting | Bill Failed - Senate (10 - 11) |
| June 13, 2017 | PA | HB 864 | Amends Gaming and Gambling Laws | Bill Passed - House (136 - 56) |
| May 24, 2017 | PA | HB 271 | Establishes Internet Gambling Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 12) |
| May 24, 2017 | OH | HB 132 | Establishes Regulations for Fantasy Sports | Bill Passed - House (82 - 15) |
| May 22, 2017 | NJ | A 3532 | Establishes Fantasy Sports Regulations | Bill Passed - House (56 - 16) |
| May 17, 2017 | IL | SB 7 | Establishes Gambling Industry Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 24) |
| April 20, 2017 | FL | HB 743 | Prohibits Anabolic Steroids in Greyhounds | Bill Passed - House (84 - 32) |
| April 5, 2017 | FL | HB 7037 | Amends Casino and Gaming Laws | Bill Passed - House (73 - 40) |
| April 4, 2017 | PA | HB 271 | Establishes Internet Gambling Regulations | Bill Passed - House (142 - 56) |
| Aug. 19, 2016 | AL | SB 3 | Establishes State Lottery | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 12) |
| June 16, 2016 | NC | HB 1047 | Requires Lottery Commission to Report Winner Information to Social Services | Bill Passed - House (74 - 39) |
| May 19, 2016 | IL | HB 3655 | Establishes Regulations for Fantasy Sports Contests | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 22) |
| March 24, 2016 | NH | SB 551 | Authorizes a Casino in Salem | Bill Failed - Senate (11 - 13) |
| March 4, 2016 | IN | SB 339 | Establishes Regulations for Fantasy Sports Games | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (34 - 10) |
| March 3, 2016 | RI | H 7228 | Authorizes a Gambling Facility in Tiverton | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 2) |